Furnace setback really saves cash

I have a gas furnace and in the winter keep the thermostat during the day at 68 degrees. At night I turn it back to 60. Is it more economical to leave it at 68 degrees all the time? Mrs. Helen M. Perry Grand Island, Nebraska

No, do not leave the thermostat at 68 degrees all the time. You save anywhere from 10 to 30 percent, depending on whether you use one setback period or two in a 24-hour day, as well as the location of the house, time of year, etc.

You might opt to set back the thermostat at night, for example, and then turn it up, either manually or automatically, the next morning in order to provide a comfortable house for breakfast and the early- morning chores of getting ready for the day.Then, if everyone is out of the house for the day -- working or in school, for example -- the thermostat can again be set back, returning to the more comfortable level for the dinner hour and evening.

Instead of heating hour house all day, say, at 68 degrees, with a daytime setback as well as a night setback, you end up heating it for only 6 to 10 hours in 24.

You can save a lot of money, say energy watchers.

Honeywell has figures on setback savings for, I believe, 25 principal cities in the US. You can write to the company and ask for the 8-by 10-inch print of the data -- a fuel-saving calculator which will be sent to anyone who asks -- including single and double setbacks for heating and single setbacks for cooling.

Write to: Honeywell, Inc., Honeywell Plaza, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55408.